MCSCPM -Chapter 320 Gathering Information

After a moment of silence, she stepped back a few paces.
“I won’t go in after all. It’s getting late—I should leave now. I’ll leave things here to you.”

“Miss Yin, you’re too polite. Taking care of the prince is my duty. If possible, I’d rather have been the one injured instead of the prince. That way, you wouldn’t be so sad.”

“Alright, Leng Feng. Don’t say things like that again. Think about Ding Ying—she’s the one who truly deserves everything you’re willing to give.”

At the mention of Ding Ying, Leng Feng fell silent. He loved her, but with so many matters pressing on him now, he couldn’t give her a future anytime soon, and that filled him with guilt.

Yin Qingyue saw through his thoughts and understood his concerns, so she said, “Don’t worry, Leng Feng. You and Ding Ying will be together—for a lifetime. It won’t be like Prince Jing and me.”

“Miss Yin…”

“Alright, enough talking. I’m going back.”

“I’ll see you off.”

“No need. Stay and take care of Prince Jing.”

Leaving those words behind, Yin Qingyue turned and left. She didn’t want to look back—didn’t want to feel reluctant to part, didn’t want to cry.

If that was the case, it was better to leave.

After exiting Prince Jing’s residence, Yin Qingyue was cautious on her way back to the inn, even though she wasn’t afraid.

Just then, she happened to see two street ruffians approaching from afar, holding wine jugs, clearly drunk. Their presence made her uncomfortable. She didn’t want to deal with such people, so she deliberately moved to the side.

When the two ruffians spotted her, they squinted and looked her over from a distance. First, they noticed her figure—graceful, well-proportioned. The two licked their lips and staggered toward her, thinking that with such a figure, her looks must be decent as well.

Realizing they were coming her way, Yin Qingyue became alert.

As the ruffians drew closer, the strong smell of alcohol hit her, making her frown.

When Yin Qingyue stepped out of the shadows, the two ruffians’ legs immediately went weak. The wine jugs slipped from their hands and crashed to the ground. They stumbled backward, faces filled with disgust, even nausea, covering their mouths as if about to retch.

Yin Qingyue’s face was covered in pockmarks and moles, her skin dark—truly a rare “masterpiece.” In the entire capital, it would be hard to find a woman uglier than her. She wasn’t just unattractive—she was downright repulsive.

No wonder the two ruffians wanted nothing to do with her.

“Pah! Turns out she’s that ugly. Scared the life out of me.”

“So ugly and still wandering around—disgusting. I almost went over just now, thank goodness I didn’t.”

“Even if she threw herself at me, I wouldn’t want her. Just looking at her makes me lose my appetite. Wasted a whole jug of good wine. Let’s go, let’s go…”

The two ruffians hurriedly took a detour, afraid that even one more glance would make them vomit.

Yin Qingyue smiled to herself. It seemed this disguise was quite useful—at least no one would dare harass her, sparing her from deliberate trouble.

As the two petty thugs staggered away, they suddenly began talking about the Yi Prince’s residence.

One of them said, “Do you know something strange happened at the Yi Prince’s residence?”

“What do you mean?”

“Yesterday, somehow, someone carried in a huge sack. And the sack was moving. Isn’t that weird?”

“What’s so strange about a big sack?” the other asked, puzzled.

The first draped an arm over his shoulder and said slowly, “How is that not strange? Think about it—a huge sack that’s moving. If it’s not a person, then it’s a beast.”

“A person? That seems unlikely. I think it’s probably some wild wolves or ferocious beasts the Yi Prince keeps—used to punish disobedient servants.”

“The Yi Prince has that kind of hobby?”

“The world is full of oddities. Everyone knows the Yi Prince has a strange temperament.”

If they hadn’t been drunk and emboldened by alcohol, they wouldn’t have dared gossip about the Yi Prince behind his back. They were truly courting death.

As the two ruffians walked farther away, Yin Qingyue could no longer hear their conversation. She didn’t pay much attention to their words anyway, treating them as idle gossip.

Night roads were full of surprises. Not wanting to run into people like that again, she quickened her pace and returned to the inn. Entering through the back courtyard unnoticed, she went straight to her room.

After sitting for a while, she walked over to the mirror and looked at her reflection in the bronze mirror. Her face was uneven and covered with moles—so ugly that even she herself found it disgusting. No wonder those men reacted the way they did.

After thinking for a moment, she decided to remove her makeup. She was going to rest anyway, and no one would come.

So she picked up a basin and went out to fetch water.

Unexpectedly, she ran into the innkeeper.

“Ugly girl, I need to talk to you,” the innkeeper said.

Not knowing what he wanted, Yin Qingyue set down the basin and replied, “Innkeeper, if you have something to say, just say it.”

“It’s nothing important. I just wanted to let you know—last time, when you served Prince Yi, I said I’d give you extra pay. So from now on, you don’t need to wash dishes anymore. You’ll specifically attend to the important guests who come to the inn.”

“This…” Yin Qingyue hesitated. “Innkeeper, that might not be appropriate. I’ve only been here a short time. I’m worried I won’t do well and might cause trouble for you. Let’s forget it.”

The innkeeper became anxious and quickly said, “Ugly girl, don’t you know? It’s precisely because you’re ugly that those high-ranking officials won’t do anything to you.”

So that was his intention. As expected of an innkeeper—calculating to the core. First, he pushed her to serve Prince Yi, then Hai Qingshuang.

Being ugly meant being safe? Was being ugly her fault?

Seeing her hesitation, the innkeeper continued persuading her. “Ugly girl, don’t worry about the money—it’ll definitely be much more than you’re making now. You came all the way to the capital; it hasn’t been easy. If you attend to those nobles, who knows—maybe one of them will take a fancy to you. Then you’ll rise from the ashes and become a phoenix.”

Hearing this, Yin Qingyue couldn’t help but smile. With her appearance, not even a beggar would want her. The innkeeper was really saying anything to get her help.

“Innkeeper, you’re exaggerating. I’m this ugly—who would ever take a liking to me?”

The innkeeper laughed. “Everyone has different tastes. Maybe someone will like you. Anyway, it’s settled. From now on, you’ll serve the distinguished guests.”

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll scare them away?” Yin Qingyue asked.

“You don’t understand. Those nobles are always picky. If they don’t come, I’ll be even happier and more at ease.”

Left with no choice, Yin Qingyue sighed. The innkeeper had already said this much—how could she refuse?

Thinking it over carefully, this might actually be a good thing. She could gather a lot of information this way.

She remembered what Chu Jingcheng had once said—the best places to gather information were taverns and teahouses. Perhaps by serving in the front hall, she could obtain the information she wanted and find the murderer of Mei’er as soon as possible.

“Alright. We all work for the innkeeper—let’s do as you say.”

The innkeeper burst into laughter, clearly pleased. He patted Yin Qingyue on the shoulder and said, “Good. I’ll definitely raise your pay. It’s late now—go rest. Tomorrow, you’ll serve in the front hall.”

Yin Qingyue smiled without saying anything, watching the innkeeper swagger away smugly.

With no other choice, she fetched water and returned to her room.

She didn’t even bother removing her makeup. Exhausted from the day, she went straight to sleep.

The next day.

Around noon, Yin Qingyue was about to go into the kitchen to collect dirty dishes to wash. Just as she picked up a basin of bowls, a voice sounded behind her:

“Ugly girl, why are you still here? The innkeeper wants you in the front hall—some distinguished guests have arrived. If you don’t go now, the innkeeper will get angry.”

The waiter took all the bowls from her hands and urged her to hurry.

Yin Qingyue felt a headache coming on. They had just talked about it last night, and now it was already happening.

As the waiter pushed her forward, he whispered, “Ugly girl, it’s a private room on the second floor. Hurry up. If you’re late, the guests will lose their temper.”

“I know,” Yin Qingyue replied. She picked up a cleaning cloth, draped it over her shoulder, and went upstairs.

When she pushed open the private room door, several refined gentlemen were seated inside, exuding a strong scholarly atmosphere. They were clearly here to drink tea—not the type of crude, money-flashing guests.

Yin Qingyue entered quietly, careful not to disturb them. With her head lowered, she busied herself—brewing tea and wiping the table with gentle movements, so light that she didn’t draw their attention.

This way, her appearance wouldn’t distract them from enjoying their tea.

The scholars raised their cups to one another, chatting and laughing in a harmonious mood.

Suddenly, a man in white asked, “By the way, why hasn’t Grand Tutor Hai arrived yet? Didn’t we agree on this time? It’s already been quite a while.”

“Could Grand Tutor Hai have gotten the time wrong?” a man in dark clothes asked.

The man in white shook his head confidently. “Impossible. Didn’t we confirm it beforehand? He even replied, saying he would come. Could something have happened at his residence?”

“You don’t know yet?” said a white-bearded man seated in the middle, looking as though he knew the inside story.

Everyone leaned in, curious. “What do you know? Tell us already—don’t keep us in suspense.”

“I only heard rumors at first, but after checking, I found out it’s true. Grand Tutor Hai’s daughter, Hai Qingshuang, has gone missing. The entire Hai residence is searching for her. It’s been a whole day, and they still haven’t found her. That’s why he won’t be coming today. If she were found, he would’ve come.”

“Missing? How could she just disappear? Doesn’t Hai Qingshuang usually stay at home and never go out?”

“I’ve also heard that Grand Tutor Hai’s daughter is very proud and aloof, and extremely obedient to her father. How could someone like that go missing? Could this just be a rumor?”

“No, no—it’s absolutely true. There’s no mistake. I’ve already sent people to check. The Hai residence guards are secretly searching the capital, and today they’ve even gone outside the city.”

Everyone nodded, convinced, yet their faces showed regret and pity.

One of them said, “Tell me, how could a perfectly fine person just disappear? Could something have happened to her—maybe an accident while she was out?”

“You shouldn’t say such things lightly!”